Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

If you are having problems getting your kids eat their vegetables, why not introduce the veggies into their desserts. Example whip up some carrot cupcakes! That way you'll know your kids will be getting their share of beta-carotine and vitamins. Definitely a yummy way to disguise those "yucky" stuff as most kids would call them

The other best thing about this carrot cupcake recipe is that you only need two bowls, one for the cupcake batter and the other bowl for the frosting. For sure you won't need to take out your huge kitchenaid mixer and after that have to spend so much time having to clean it up.

As with most carrot cake recipes that I've come across and made, the cake texture turned out moist and yummy! This one uses vegetable oil instead of butter. What more if you add a dollop of cream cheese as topping it'll taste even better!

I made this batch of cupcakes on a mid-week evening for an office meeting tea-break. This is my second attempt at catering, the first being my orange lemon cupcakes.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ½ cups grated carrots, around 4 medium carrots
1/4 cup walnuts (you can also use pecans) chopped
1/4 cup raisins

For the Frosting:

100g cream cheese, softened
130g icing sugar, sieved
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Slowly beat the cream cheese and icing sugar in a large bowl with an electric whisk until creamy and soft. Add the lemon juice and vanilla and beat briskly until combined.

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease or line with papers a 12-hole muffin tin.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil until combined. Add the eggs one by one and mix until smooth. Add the vanilla extract.

3) Sift all the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix.

4) Add the dry ingredients in two batches to the oil mixture. Stir well to combine, ensuring that there are no lumps.

5) Add the grated carrots, chopped walnuts and raisins into the cake batter.

6) Divide the batter between the muffin pans and bake for around 18 minutes or until golden brown and springy to touch. Allow to cool.

8) Frost the cooled cupcakes and top with the halfed walnuts.